. . . . . . . News, events, opinions and ideas for the Greylock region. Host: Bill Densmore. (email) Click HERE for documents, texts and additional information. The views here are those of Bill Densmore. This is not a professional journalism service.

November 2005

November 29, 2005

A chance for faculty, staff, students and parents to meet and give
suggestions to the renovation feasibility architects at Mount Greylock
Regional High School has been proposed for Tuesday, Dec. 13 by school
Supt. William Travis.

"I asked [Dore and Whittier] if they could come earlier and meet with
faculty/staff immediately after school in the library for those able to
stay," Travis said in an email posting on Tuesday. He said the architects
could gather from faculty, staff and students information about things
desired in a renovation or rebuilding of the school.

Travis said students might gather with the architects in the cafeteria or
auditorium, with the session completed before a 4 p.m. "late bus" that
could transport students home. From 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the architects
could then meet with parents and the public in the school library, and
then would attend a building committee meeting at 6 p.m. in Room S-1.

November 27, 2005

Monday, Nov. 28, is the deadline to submit orders for fresh-from-Florida cases of citrus fruit, with all profits supporting the Mount Greylock Regional High School "Friends of the Arts" organization. Case orders placed by 9 p.m. on Monday will be ready for pickup between Dec. 5 and 7 at the school (the exact date will depend on when the truck arrives from Florida). An order form with details:

November 18, 2005

The North Adams Transcript is reporting that the teachers' union and the Mount Greylock Regional School district have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. The teachers will vote on Dec. 6 whether to ratify the proposal, but Transcript reporter Karen Gardener's story quotes both sides as saying they think it will will approval. No details are know yet.

November 10, 2005

UPDATE Nov. 10, 2005: Williams alum Ethan Zuckerman, who lives in Lanesborough but works at Harvard University, posted a length blog report on George Lakoff's speech (noted below). You can link to it here.

UPDATED: Nov. 5, 2005

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- With three talks in North Berkshire in a little over a month, you can get a pretty good picture of the issues with which Howard Dean and the Democratic Party leadership are wrestling. First Joe Trippi, the veteran Democratic political operative who ran Dean’s Internet fund-raising operation, spoke Oct. 5 at Williams College. He says it’s actually Democrats, not Republicans, who are hooked on million-dollar campaign fundraising checks and they need to use the Internet to raise much more money in smaller amounts from many more people. Then former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis appeared at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Oct. 27. His message to Democrats – get back to organizing the grassroots. Go door to door, and do it many months, not weeks, before an election. Use the Internet to organize the party faithful because it is so fantastic – and so cheap – at conveying information about events, plans, schedules and ideas. Finally, also on Oct. 27, University of California linguist and political strategist George Lakoff spoke at Williams. He says the key for Democrats is to learn how to “frame” political issues in terms of value statements. That’s what the Republicans have done so well, he says, and that’s what sways voters.Audio of Dukakis’ talk is at: http://newshare.typepad.com/greylocknews/files/dukakis-why_democrats-fail-10-27-05.mp3and you can find Trippi at: http://newshare.typepad.com/mediagiraffe/files/trippi_williamstown-10-05-05.mp3 . . . For a general look at Lakoff’s thinking,play audio of his panel appearance at a media conference in St. Louis in July at this address: http://www.freepress.net/conference/audio05/sat-200-framing.mp3

November 08, 2005

WILLIAMSTOWN -- The Mount Greylock school board was meeting tonight in executive session to consider how to respond to an overwelming rejection of a contract proposal by the teachers' union. Meanwhile, the president of the Mount Greylock Educators Association, the teachers' union, give a written statement to the board during its open session. In it, Rose-Marie Pelletier, a mathematics teacher, said the teachers may begin lawful job actions on Nov. 14 if the contract isn't tentatively resolved. The actions may include "cessation of voluntary activities and the resignation of staff from certain stipend positions." Read the full statement: Download 11-08-05_mgrhs_faculty_statement.htm

November 05, 2005

Pardon this tiny diversion from "Greylock news." If you have any interested at all in our nation's government, you should read an incisive analysis by former Watergate conspirator John Dean which suggests that Special Prosector Patrick Fitzgerald may yet trouble Vice President Dick Cheney. It's the first piece I've read which lays out clearly and plausibly exactly what happened in "Plame-gate." Here's the link:http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110405C.shtmlI'd be interested in readers' thoughts. Please post comments by clicking on the comments buttom below after you've read Dean's piece. Isn't it ironic that a former Republican stalwart -- Dean -- who went through the ringer on Watergate -- is now one of the most careful critics of the Bush administration?